


Making Amends

by karasunova



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Gen, Hermione with the elder wand, Just slightly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 06:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18067922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karasunova/pseuds/karasunova
Summary: In the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry gives Hermione the Elder Wand. Overwhelmed and confused, Hermione questions why and what she’s supposed to do with it.





	Making Amends

**Author's Note:**

> Not heavy plot-wise. I was going with a 'what if' scenario that turned sort of into a character study. Hope you enjoy. 
> 
>  
> 
> Written for Hermione's Haven 2019 Bingo  
> Square Filled: Elder Wand (I5)

“What are you doing?” Hermione watched Harry stand before her, arms wide.

“Disarm me.”

“What?”

She, Harry, and Ron stood in the Hogwarts courtyard, debris strewn around them.

Harry held out his hand, the elder wand held loosely in his hand. “Disarm me and take control of the elder wand.”

“Why?” Hermione’s mind was blanking. What could Harry possibly want her to do with that thing?

Harry gestured around him. “Look at all that you can do with it, Hermione.” He walked over and squeezed her hand. “Just promise me when you’re all done and finished. Destroy it.”

* * *

Hermione stared at the piece of wood set before her. The Elder Wand. The most powerful wand in the world and Harry gave it to her.

What was she supposed to do with it? What did Harry expect her to do?

“I don’t want this,” she muttered to herself.

“Ms. Granger.”

Hermione jumped slightly, looking over her shoulder, she saw Prof. McGonagall standing in the doorway of the small classroom Hermione had occupied. “Professor?”

Prof. McGonagall walked toward the small table Hermione inhabited. Her movement was stiff, but she looked much better than she did earlier that day. Dirt and soot cleaned away and her hair back in a neat bun. “What are you doing here all alone, young lady?”

Hermione’s eyes turned back to the wand. “Harry gave this to me,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Prof. McGonagall settled beside the desk. “I see.”

“What am I supposed to do with it?” She pushed it with her finger. “It’s done so much damage. I don’t think I want to use it. Why did Harry do this?”

“He believes you can use it well,” her head of house said. “You can change the legacy of that wand.”

“By doing what?” Hermione wrapped her arms around herself. “All it’s done is brought destruction and pain.”

“And that’s what you should do. Creation and healing.” Prof. McGonagall rested her hands over her stomach, her eyes roving over the classroom. “This is a good place to start.”

Hermione looked up. “Hogwarts?”

Prof. McGonagall nodded. “Take some time to rest. Spend time with your loved ones. Then, come see me in a few days and we’ll start.”

* * *

One thing the Elder Wand cannot do is bring people back to life. This was something Hermione was reminded of when she was ensconced at the Burrow. A place usually so full of warmth and laughter was dim and quiet.

She had a permanent place next to Ron, holding his hand or holding him. She also became a safe haven for a newborn who tugged on the strangeness of her hair.

Hermione thought she understood death, but she really hadn’t. Not until now. Watching Molly and Arthur, Ron and his siblings, Mrs. Tonks. Harry.

“It’s not something to be afraid of,” Harry told her one warm night. They laid out back behind the Burrow, beneath a dark and starry sky. Their hands clutched tightly. “It’s a part of life. Our loved ones may not be here, but it doesn’t mean they’re gone.”

“It hurts though,” Hermione said. “It hurts losing someone.”

“It should, because then what’s the point?”

* * *

Prof. McGonagall led Hermione through the grounds of Hogwarts and together repaired the illustrious school. From the ramparts, bridges, the staircases. They gradually moved from room to room, each house, the library.

“Extraordinary work, Ms. Granger.”

Hermione and Prof. McGonagall stood in the entrance hall, the stone floor and walls expertly rebuilt. Mr. Filch was sweeping in the reconstructed courtyard. Madam Pomfrey was in the infirmary, Prof. Sprout at the greenhouses making an inventory of what was needed.

“Hogwarts, the students and staff, and I are indebted to you, Ms. Granger.”

Hermione shook her head. “It wasn’t me, Professor.”

Prof. McGonagall let out a small sigh. “Either way, Ms. Granger. We will forever appreciate your actions.”

Hermione stuffed the Elder Wand into her bag, not wanting to hold it for longer than she needed.

“What will you do now?”

Hermione wasn’t sure. She didn’t have an answer when she sat down for lunch with her head of house and Prof. Sprout. She didn’t know when she headed down to Hogsmeade to apparate home.

She was laying on the floor in Ginny’s room when she realized there was one more thing she could possibly do – get her parents back.

She came to the conclusion fast and left just as quickly. Packing a duffle bag with another extension charm full of clothes, scheduled a portkey, and exchanged some tearful goodbyes with Harry and Ron.

She needed to do this. Before her life began to settle and move forward. She needed to reverse the memory charm she placed on her parents.

It wasn’t until her second full day in Australia when the immensity of her mission came crashing down around her. What will her parents say? Perhaps a memory charm was too severe. She should have thought this through better. She should have made a better plan.

When the Grangers–Wilkins– invited her inside for lemonade. After her first cup, she slipped out the Elder Wand and with a practiced hand she recited, “revelare occultatum memoriae.”

The reversal was slow going, but her mum and dad slowly came too, their eyes refocusing and settling on her.

Her mother’s brown eyes filled with tears. “Hermione?”

Hermione’s lips trembled. “Mum!” She rushed from her seat and into her mother’s arms.

She was terrified for them. She risked their whole lives in the inkling of hope that they would survive this war unscathed. And here they were, living in a bungalow, a five-minute walk from the beach. Happy. Healthy. Alive.

“Oh, darling, why did you do this to us?” Her father whispered. “We told you we didn’t want to do this.”

“I know,” she hiccuped, “but I wanted you to live.”

“How could we possibly live without you in our lives, sweetheart?” He squeezed her arm and hugged her, circling his arms around her and her mother.

Hermione told her parents what had happened. They cried and argued and let off a lot of steam, but at the end of it all, they came together. To reflect, recognize, and honor the people in their lives and who were now gone.

When she returned home, she asked Harry to meet her at the Burrow.

“So, how did it go?” He asked her, sitting down beside her on the soft ground. It was dark and quiet outside the Weasley’s home.

“My parents are going to rent out their bungalow. They’re going to use it as a vacation home. They decided they weren’t going to wait for retirement to enjoy themselves. They’re going to live in the now.”

Harry nodded. “And the Elder Wand.”

Hermione took it out of her purse and twirled it between her fingers. “I think I’m done with it.” She held out the wand. “Do you want to do it?”

Her best friend sighed and took it out of her hand. He looked it over for a moment and then snapped it in two. He handed her the two pieces.

She took them and snapped them in half again, creating four pieces. “That’s the end of that.”

Harry sat back and stared at the twinkling stars above. “It’s over.”

Hermione laid back. “It’s over.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks reading!


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